A group of children with autism read aloud to dogs and rats at an Estonian library as part of a program to improve their literacy and social skills and reduce their anxiety.
Autistic kids find unusual reading partners in rats and dogs
Repeated reading sessions with animals at a library Tartu has made Mattias Manfred Reinlo more open and willing to talk, his older brother Karl said.
Anneli Aim said her son Toni normally did not like reading but had no problem doing so with a canine listener.
Liis Maaltsemees, whose sons Marten and Oliver read to a rat, said reading to animals helped the children keep calm.
Dogs and rats are the most popular reading partners but other animals available include crayfish, which stay at the library's main branch.
When at home, the children are encouraged to read to their own animals.